Podophyllum 2014

[Margaret]

Thank you, Maggi. I'll get the salt dish out and try to apply a pinch when necessary.  Have to say that the family enjoy pulling my leg and I don't mind too much.

John, what have you got in the pots stacked in the greenhouse (or are you pulling my leg again?).  Your climate seems to be similar to ours apart from your higher rainfall and Podophyllum is fine in the ground here.

[johnw]

Margaret - The stacked pots could be anything but mainly cyclamen, rhododendrons, nerines, vireyas, seedlings, bamboos, rhodophialas, hellebores etc etc.   And the barn/coach house is full on the main floor as well.

I'm afraid our winters are brutal compared to yours over there.  I assume you mean Greenwich as in GMT and not Greenwich, Nova Scotia!  Or is this a clever touché?

johnw 

[johnw]

Hi John.. I think I have the cross already displaying the large leaf of plieanthum and red from delavayi. i guess the 2 species influence the shape too

Good to hear. I'm sure there is more trouble to get into with this group.

johnw

[Robin Callens]

John,

A few years ago, I pollinated Podo delavayi with Podo aurantiocaule and vice versa. P.aurantiocaule did not set seed (it usually does when left alone). P. delavayi however produced fruits with viable seed (it usually does not when left to itself). Photo1 2 3 4 :delavayi seedlings  pollinated with aurantiocaule,no flowers yet.

Robin

[johnw]

Robin  - It would appear there's a lot of potential there.  Keep up the good work.

When aurantiocaule flowers in the next few years we will have to try our hand at it; we have 2 different aurantiocaules and I wonder what you think?  One big big teeth (picture #2) and fine hairs on the edge, the other many more fine hairs (picture #1 in the foreground).

 

[Robin Callens]

John,

It is difficult to sort out young Podos. The shape and colour of the leaves can change when they get older . And no flowers to tell different forms or subspecies apart.

Robin

[ashley]

Robin, those delavayi hybrids are extraordinary - like snowflakes

These are from seed received as Podophyllum mairei (or possibly P. mairei hybrids) in August 2009, but they look more like straight P. pleianthum to me.  What do you think?
Regardless of what the label says, they’re stunning plants and I’m delighted with them.

[Robin Callens]

Ashley,

I agree with you:stunning plants and probably straight pleianthum.

Some pics of a good foliage form of a dwarf Podo difforme with three leaves .

Robin

[Leena]

Ashley, how great looking plant you have.

[ashley]

Thanks for ID confirmation Robin as I don't know much about podos.

Yes I love them too Leena.  They're especially dramatic as the folded leaves emerge in the spring, and the flowers are such an intense colour - quite a unique 'old' red.
If they set seed then you're welcome to some later in the summer.  Presumably they should be hardy enough there in southern Finland.

[Brian Ellis]

They are lovely and I like your dwarf form with those lovely marked leaves Robin.

[johnw]

John, It is difficult to sort out young Podos. The shape and colour of the leaves can change when they get older . And no flowers to tell different forms or subspecies apart.Robin

True enough  - Here is Trond's aurantiocaule that was plain green until this year.  It will surely get even better!

johnw

[johnw]

Robin  - These are quite fantastic difformes.  At lastr I get 3-4 to live but I find the stems are particularly brittle whereas the bigger-leafed spp. like pleianthum which one would expect to get battered in the wind are fine.

I too may have pleianthum instead of mairiei, can you give us some diagnostics?  I guess time to order some seed!

johnw - +11c and fog lifting, hint of sun. 15-30mm tonight, we are parched...........

[Geoforce]

John

Your 'pleianthum x versipelle' look very interesting, will be interested to hear where the blooms appear, on leaf or at the fork.  I made this cross both ways this spring and, so far, pods are still developing and haven't dropped so I hope for seed.  Not sure on the yellow, but here I constantly fight off podophyllum rust which gives yellow leaf spots but never seen a pattern like that one, just expanding spots.

Ashley

From your photos, I would have called your plants P. versipelle (spelling?) as they appear to bloom from under the leaf rather than at the leaf fork.  Also my pleianthum have much larger flowers which are more 'frilly'.

Geo

[ashley]

Thanks George.  I'm very unclear about distinctions within the pleianthum/versipelle/mairei complex, and probably I'm not alone because this topic crops up on the forum almost every year. 
Indeed most of my plants are flowering from a point 3-5 cm below the leaf, but one is also flowering from the leaf axil  
Flower size is about 2 cm, petals becoming more crinkled and fading over time.